Rotary drilling apparatus



June 9, 1931. E. EQGR EVE 1,309,444

ROTARY DRILLING APPARATUS Filed May. 23, 1 29 2 Sheets-Sheet l fig INVENTOR June 9, 1931. E. E. GREVE ROTARY DRILLING APPARATUS Filed Ma 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 93, 19931 EDGAR- GEEVE, OF BELLEV'UE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

as arena mean TC OIL ELL SUPPLY CQMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ROTARY DRILLING APPARATUS Application filed May 23,

My invention relates to the art of rotary drilling, and more particularly to a new and improved method of and means for connecting the adjacent threaded ends of casing sections, drill pipe sections, tool joints, and the like, employed in the rotary drilling of oil and gas wells, and disconnecting the same, said operations being known as making up and breaking out sections.

As is well known to those skilled in the art of rotary drilling, the drilling apparatus usually includes a revoluble gear-ring and a revoluble drive-ring, said members being concentrically assembled. When it is de sired to make up or break out sections of the drill pipe, etc., pipe gripping tongs are em ployed, one usually mounted on and rotative with the drive-gear and another mounted on the drive-ring. The drive-ring, during the operation of screwing and unscrewing the sections, supports and carries the load of the drill pipe disposed in the well, and is kept from rotating by suitable means.

The drive-gear and tong carried thereby during this operation are rotated, and it will be understood that, unless some means are employed to relieve the pressure applied immediately after the joint is made up and shouldered, the cooperating threads of adjacent pipe sections, etc, or parts of the apparatus, will be injured or broken.

One object of the present invention is to provide improved holding means for one oi the rotatable members of a rotary, this holding means latching its member during the make-up operation but automatically releasing when a predetermined torque is transmitted to the member which is being held.

- A further object of this invention is to provide holding means for one of the rotatable members of a rotary which may be secured in inoperative position, and whichis releas able from operative position when the torque tending toturn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount.

Further objects and advantages of my in vention will be hereinafter specifically reterred to or will be apparent from a consideration of the specification, taken in conncc-L tion with the drawings.

1929. Serial No. 365,360.

In theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate an application of my invention:

F 1g. 1 is a part top plan and a part sectional view, showing a portion of a rotary and the device or apparatus embodying my invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2, an end elevational view;

Fig. 3, a detail plan View, particularly showing the locking member; 1

Fig. 4, a sectional view taken on line 1VIV of Fig. 2; I Fig. 5, a detail sectional view taken on line VV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6, a part 'elevational and a part sectional View of the rotary, secti-ons of drill pipe and tool joints, and tongs, with my device associated therewith.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a rotary or the make-up and break-out type,

that is to say, a rotary particularly adapted for screwing up sections of casing, drill pipe, and tool joints, and for breaking out or unscrewing the same.

'As illustrated, 5 designates the base of the be driven in the usual or any preferred manner. As shown, 8 designates a pinion carried on an end of the rotatable shaft 9, said pinion being designed to cooperate with the teeth on the gear-ring.

During the operation of drilling, these two revoluble members 6 and 7 are locked together and are rotatably driven in unison, but, in the operation of making up and breaking out, as will be more fully hereinafter described, the two revoluble members are disconnected. The drive ring 7, as shown, includes a spider 10, and 11 designates slips employed in connection therewith.

A characteristic and important feature of the present invention comprises automatically operable releaseable locking means associated withone or the revoluble members for preventing a rotative movement of said member, as well as permitting a rotativc movement thereof under certain conditions. That is to say, in the operation of screwing together the adjacent ends of threaded pipe sections, tool joints, or the like, I employ these locking and releasing means in conjunction with the revoluble gear and drive ring, tongs for gripping adjacent sections, and other parts of a rotary, to connect without injury to the parts the adjacent ends of said sections.

The base portion of the rotary is adapted to receive the automatically operable device and, as shown, the device comprises a casting generally designated 15. This casting is secured to the base 5 of the table by a plurality of bolts 16 passed through a base portion 17 of the casting, and is additionally supported by downwardly extending legs 17a.

As illustrated, the casting includes two spaced apart plunger-receiving housings 18 and 18a, said housings each having a cylindrical bore and having their ends open. he purpose of the housings is to receive springpressed pins or plunger elements 19. Said elements 19 each carry on its inner end a con tacting roller 20, the latter being mounted on the respective heads 21 of the plunger elements. 22 designates a spring disposed within each housing and arranged to urge the contacting rollers into engagement with cam surfaces, hereinafter described.

The outer ends of the housings are each rovided with a bushing 23, said bushings bemg secured therein by means of laterally extending pins 2 1, and the spring 22 is inter posed between the bushing and the head of the plunger element.

Disposed between the two housings 18 and 18a and rotatably operable relative thereto, I provide a locking member carrier 25, said member 25 being rotatably mounted on an integral shaft 26, the latter extending vertically and downwardly therefrom and supported in the base portion 17 of the casting, as particularly shown by Fig. 1. Member 25 has a flat base portion 5 adapted to seat on the base pore tion 17 of the casting 15, and is held against upward movement by means of a retaining plate 0, positioned in a recess (Z of the casting 17 and secured to the shaft 26 by screws 26a.

Located on each side of the carrier 25 and formed integral therewith are curved projecting elements 27, said elements 27 each having cam surfaces 31 and stop means 33. These contacting surfaces of the projecting elements 27 are designed to co-operate with the rollers carried by the plunger elements 19, as will be further hereinafter described.

35 designates an automatically operable locking and releasing member or element designed to be entered into and withdrawn from an'opening a disposed in the periphery of the drive-ring 7 This locking element 35 is provided with an extension 36 which terminates in a looped handle portion 37. 38 designates dered.

a spring surrounding the said extension and disposed within the carrier between a head 38a of the locking member and a plate 39 secured to the outer open end of the carrier. It will be noted that the spring urges the locking and releasing member towards the drive-ring.

It will be understood that the springpressed elements 19 having the rollers thereof in contact with the respective projecting elements of the locking member carrier, func tion to normally maintain the said carrier 25 in fixed position with the locking element 35 entered in the recess or opening a of the drivering. The springs 22 for urging the rollers into contact with elements 27 are calibrated to the amount of resistance required for maintaining the device in operative locked position relative to the drive-ring in the operation of making up or screwing together sections of the drill pipe. That is to say, the springs are of such character as to prevent an unlocking action taking place until the thread portions of the adjacent pipe sections or the tool joints carried thereby are threaded and shoul In other words, the automatically operable locking means are held in looking positionuntil a predetermined resistance is encountered by the revoluble member or gear ring of therotary. When this predetermined resistance is encountered, it will be understood that a continued pressure being applied to the drive-ring will overcome the resistance to the spring elements 27 and permit the locking member carrier to be partially rotated with its rotatable shaft, thus withdrawing the look ing member from the opening in the drivering.

The position of the locking member rela tive to the drive-ring while in locking position is shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and when in a released position in dotted lines of Fig. 1. It will be noted that when the rotary is operating in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 1, the spring-pressed element in the housing 18a will be out of engagement with the adjacent projecting element carried by the carrier 25, whereas the corresponding element in the housing 18 will he in contact with the said projecting element of the carrier, as shown by the said figure.

In breaking out pipe, it is of course neces: sary to prevent the rotation of the drive-ring and for this purpose, provide. locking dogs pivotally. mounted on the casting by pins 46. These dogs are movable into and out of contact with the projecting elements on the carrier and when in contact therewith prevent the said carrier from rotating and the locking and releasing element from being forced free of the drive-ring.

During drilling, the. locking element 35 is kept out of contact with the drive-ring by the provision of a bayonet slot 47 in the carrier 25 anda pin 48 adapted to be entered into a pinhole formed in element 35 through the said slot.

Fig. 6 particularly shows the adjacent sec tions of a drill pipe. These sections A and B are shown in connection with tool joints C and D employed at the ends of the said adj acent sections. It also further shows the gear ring 6 having a make-up post E designed to carry a make-up tong F, said tong being shown applied to the upper tool oint member C. The drive-ring of the rotary is provided with an opening to receive a back-up post G designed to carry a backup tong H, the latter being shown engaging the tool joint memher I). v

In the operation of making-up or screwing sections of pipe together, the gear-ring with the makeup tong mountedthereon and connected with one of the tool joints or directly to a pipe section is revolved in a clockwise clirection. At this time it is the intention to prevent the drive-ring 7 and the adjacent lower pipe section from turning before a predetermined resistance is encountered; or until the joints have been screwed home and shouldered, or the predetermined resistance encountered before the threads have been entirely screwed up, due to defects in the threads or the presence of foreign matter which would prevent the completion of the threading operation.

As above stated, the pressure of the spring actuated rollers 20 contacting with the projecting elements 27 on the locking member carrier will prevent turning of said carrier until the predetermined resistance is encountered. When this resistance is encountered, the locking element will be moved in the direction of rotation of the gear-ring and out of locking engagement with the drive-ring, thus permitting a rotation or a partial rotation of the drive-ring with the, gear-ring of the rotary. In the event that the threads have not been screwed home, it will be understood that as the locking element 35 is returned to its normal operating position, it will enter the recess or opening a in the drive-ring when this opening is brought into alinement with the said locking element. In such cases, it may be desirable to further rotate the gear-ring in the clockwise direction so as to effect what might be termed hammer blows, thus assisting in screwing together the pipe sections that have been, due to various causes, stuck before i the threading operation is completed.

' It will, of course, be understood that by reversing the operations just described, I am enabled to break the oints. That is to say, by fixedly maintaining the drive-ring against rotatin movement by means of the locking dogs 45 engaging the carrier 25, thus keeping the lower adjacent pipe section or its tool joint in fixed position and rotating the gear-ring in a counter-clockwise direction, the upper joint section may be readily screwed free of the lower adjacent section.

'Iclaim: 1. In a rotary, a plurality of members, at least'two of which are rotatable relative'to each other about the axis of the rotary and to a thirdmember, means for positively rotating one of said rotatable members, and means for releasably locking the second of said rotatable members to said third member, said locking means having a cam surface cooperating with means acting to release said second member when the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount.

2. In a rotary, a member rotatable about the axis of the rotary, means for positively rotating said member, a second member rotatable aboutthe axis of the rotary, a latch for locking said second member against rotation, and means acting to release the latch and permit said second member to rotate when the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds apredetermined amount.

3. In a rotary, a plurality of members, at least two of which are rotatable relative to each other about the axis of the rotary, a third member being normally stationary, means for positively rotating one of said rotatable members and means for releasably locking the second of said rotatable members to said third member, said locking means comprising a spring pressed roller cooperat= ing with a'cam and acting to release said second member when the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount.

4. In a rotary, a plurality of members, at least two of which are rotatable relative to each other about the axis'of the rotary, a pivoted latch for holding one of said mem-' bers stationary and a spring pressed device cooperating with the latch for maintaining the latch in operative position until the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount and thereupon releasing the latch.

5. In a rotary, a pluralityof members, at least two of which are rotatable relative to each other about the axis of the rotary, a latch for holding one of said members stationary, means for holding the latch in inoperative position and a spring pressed device cooperating with the latch for maintaining the latch in operative position until the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount and thereupon releasing the latch;

6. In a rotary, a plurality of members, at Y least two of which are rotatable relative to each other about the axis of the rotary, a latch device for holding one of said members stationary and a spring pressed roller 00- operating with a cam carried by the latch device for maintaining the device in operative position until the torque tending to turn the locked member exceeds a predetermined amount and thereupon releasing the device.

In testimony whereof I aflix my Signature;

EDGAR E. GREVE. 

